CDPQ enters sustainable micromobility market with US 50M$ investment in Bird

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Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

Oct 03, 2019, 17:35 ET

MONTRÉAL, Oct. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec ("CDPQ") is announcing an equity investment of US$50 million in Bird Rides, Inc. (Bird), the global leader in sustainable micromobility.

Bird operates shared electric scooters in over 100 cities globally, offering an increasingly popular clean mobility option for short urban rides. After less than three years of existance, Bird has already established itself as a key shared transportation option for commuters in major cities across the globe.

"Bird fits directly within our strategy to invest in innovative and disruptive tech sectors such as sustainable mobility" said Jeffrey R Smith, Senior Managing Director, Digital Investment Strategy, CDPQ. "This new partnership also supports our commitment to take part in the transition toward a less carbon-intensive global economy. We look forward to continue building a business which provides micromobility solutions in cities around the world."

"Instead of spending to grow the company at any cost, our focus is to improve the revenue generated by each single Bird electric scooter" said Travis VanderZanden, CEO and founder of Bird. "Now with the best unit economics in the industry, new Bird investors such as CDPQ see that we are paving the road for a long-term sustainable and healthy business."

ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2019, it held CA$326.7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

SOURCE Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec